The Stranger

1. Dangerous Stranger

It was nightfall in a little village hidden away in Ireland. Our little village is very private and kind of unknown to the world. Everyone has lived here for most of their lives so everyone knows each other. We don't hear much about the world outside of the village except for some stories from a couple of merchants who have passed through here.

The village is pretty big, to us anyway. Green fields for miles around and a thick patch of woods surrounding it. Nothing ever really happens here, it's peaceful. I'll be eighteen soon, and my mother is afraid I'll leave. I've told her that I won't though. After my father left to go fight in the war when I was a small child I've clung to my mom and little sister Hailie. Mother never really talks about our father, she has told us that Hailie looks more like him. She said Hailie got his beautiful red hair and a mix of their eyes making her's hazel.

I'm the only blonde in our family but mother's is close to mine. These were some of the things that Amelia thought about on this night.

She was planning on asking her mother more about her dad at dinner tonight. Amelia was waiting for Hailie to come home first. They started to worry a bit as it got later though. This wasn't too abnormal for her, she enjoyed walking through the village and watching the sunset.

Tonight however, had suddenly turned into a horrible nightmare.

As her mother starred at the clock and her worry began to grow, Haillie bursts through the door. It made Amelia jump. Their mother and Amelia quickly noticed blood dripping from Hailie's hand that was grasped to her left side. She was a little hunched over and breathing heavy.

Their mother immediately rushed over to her and helped her to the couch. Amelia was frozen for a moment, shocked at the sight and not knowing what to do. Mother was panicking, "Oh my gosh, what happened?! Who did this to you??"

Hailie took a deep breath, which made her cough and wince in pain. "I....don't know.. it was a man that I've....never seen before..." She paused and mother lightly gripped her hand before she continued. "He was dressed....in all black...I asked him if he needed help...and he just stabbed me...mommy...I'm scared.." She started to cry and their mother glanced at Amelia.

"Amelia, I can't leave her alone... you have to go get Trevor. Take a knife with you sweetheart and don't stop running until you get there. I would go but-.." Hailie cut her off in the middle of her sentence. "No, please don't go mom..."

Amelia grabbed a knife from the kitchen that had a cover on it and ran out of the house. Trevor wasn't too far from their house, but she didn't stop until she got there. On the way to get the doctor she felt like she heard footsteps running behind her. Amelia didn't stop to look, she tried to run faster. The air was so cold that it felt like it was burning her lungs. The eerie feeling of being chased made all of the adrenaline rush through her body.

As soon as she arrived at Trevor's house Amelia ran through the front doors and slammed it behind herself. She almost fell over trying to stop. Amelia yelled out, "Doctor Trevor!!! Help!" She heard the panic in her own voice and tears began to run down her face. She didn't even notice that she had cried when she was running.

Amelia heard heavy footsteps running from down the hall. When she saw him she ran over and gripped his sleeves and looked up at his face, which was bewildered.

"Amelia, hey shhh calm down. What happened?? Breathe, you need to calm down so I can understand you." Amelia took a deep breath and gulped, "It's Hailie! Someone stabbed her, she said she's never seen him before... please come help her." She can see the shock on his face as he nods and runs down the hall to grab some medical equipment. "Amelia, stay close to me, now listen very closely. As soon as we are passing the police station I want you to break away and go inside to get Adam. He needs to know what's happening immediately." Amelia nodded in agreement before they took off into the night.

Amelia can see the station coming up and her heart starts beating faster.

When she can see the front doors she broke off and ran inside. Amelia can see Trevor running in the distance, further and further away.

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, which made her jump a little, letting out a small scream. Then she saw Sheriff Adam who is completely thrown off. "Hey, it's ok. It's just me Amelia. What's the fire?" She closed her eyes for a moment then explained everything to him. His eyebrows furrow and he grabs the gun off of his desk, placing it on his belt. He takes her hand and starts walking towards her house. "Thank you for telling me Amelia. You were very brave tonight. I'm going to walk you home and then I'm going to go check the village."

She follows him, staying close by his side the whole way. Amelia doesn't say a word out of shock though.

When they get there, Trevor is already patching up Hailie's wound. Adam chimes in for a moment before he leaves. "I'll come back here after I check the rest of the village to make sure everyone is safetly in their homes. Trevor, stay here with the girls until I get back and I'll ask some questions."

We all thank him and Trevor agrees to stay with us. Once he leaves, Amelia turns her attention to Hailie. "How is she Trevor?" He stands up and starts cleaning one of his tools with the wash rag next to him. "She will be alright, no major arteries were hit. I gave her some pain medicine before you got here so she should fall asleep soon. She will need lots of rest. It'll take a long time to heal."

Her mother gets up and hugs him tight. "Thank you so much Trevor. You saved my baby girl." He gently hugs her back. "It's no trouble Irene. Amelia was very brave coming to get me. Also, as a doctor I'm very proud of you for putting a cover on that knife before you ran with it." His words made me smile.

A couple of hours passed since Adam left. Irene and Trevor are on the couch. Amelia set up a small pile of blankets in front of the fire place to lay on. She fell asleep at some point when she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.